Rapunzel’s nose wrinkles. “They’re notweird, they’re a vital part of the cycle of—”
She stops as voices seep through the parlor door. An unsurprising knock follows, but the door swings open to admit Cressien before Eugene can reach for the doorknob.
Then…King Enver enters after Cressien, somber.
Eugene and Rapunzel both still.
Enver’s hands knot together, regret sinking his shoulders. He draws a deep breath. “Princess Rapunzel. Lord Fitzherbert. I wish to apologize for my outburst last night.”
Outburst?Eugene thinks but doesn’t say. Whenhehas an outburst, it doesn’t usually involve having someone thrown in a dungeon and then trying to fix it by adding a title to their name.
King Enver’s not quite done. “My actions came from a place of fear, anger, and grief, and they were unfair to you. After speaking further with my daughter and Minister Cressien, I have decided that at the very least, I owe you the truth.” His head bows a moment, and Eugene isn’t certain who the wordsare meant for when he sighs, “Especially because it can’t be used against us anymore. Will you please come with me?”
Enver sounds remorseful. Resigned. Sincere. All in the precise quantities he ought to display.
And maybe, before last night, Eugene would have bought it. Now…
He catches himself once again rubbing at the red bands on his wrists.
Something else Eugene learned as he got better and better at stealing: Desperation reveals who you really are.
And the man who nearly threw him in prison for the crime of a family resemblance—that was pure desperation. A man who’s lost so much, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep what’s left.
Eugene needs to know exactly what kind of loss that is before Enver uses it against him again.
“Lead the way,” Eugene says.
The king ushers them through the palace, this time away from the royal wing. Now that Rapunzel’s pointed it out, Eugene can’t stop seeing the scars in the architecture, and Eugene’s got a hunch that they’re related to that “worst night of his life” Enver was ranting about.
“Princess Rapunzel.” Enver’s voice rolls back to them as they step into a broad courtyard, headed for the base of an enormous tower at the far end. No—not a tower. It’s the silent, still palace sunmill. “Legend says that a drop of sunlight fell to earth and became the flower that saved your mother, and granted you—well, your hair—healing powers.”
Rapunzel glances to Cressien, who nods near imperceptibly. “Yes,” she says, hesitant, “but I told the truth yesterday. I don’t have that power anymore.”
They reach the tower doors. Something creaks above them. Eugene looks up at the glittering crystal sails, eerily motionless.
Enver pushes the doors open. “Ours,” he says tightly, “was a drop of starlight, not sun.”
Eugene sees Cressien’s head tilt from the corner of his eye. He himself is somewhat perplexed; “I guess they’re just handing them out” earns him a mild elbow in the side from Rapunzel.
“Like yours, it fell centuries ago. But the drop of starlight fell into a spring.” King Enver waits for a guard to touch a lit torch to a groove in the wall. A pale gold flame races around the circumference of the sunmill’s interior, catching unseen fuses, and then dozens of lamps within ignite at once. They shed more than enough light to reveal a strange, shallow stone basin that covers nearly the entire floor.
In the basin’s center stands a familiar statue: a robed figure holding a cluster of dull bronze stars. Just like the ones Eugene saw in the city plazas, albeit twice their size.
“This is—was—the Great Starlight Fountain,” Enver says heavily. He begins to pace around the edge of the basin. “Below us is the Starlight Spring itself. Our ancestors found that anyone who drank directly from the spring would be cured of most ailments and injuries, and as time passed, our sailors would return from other lands and swear Asterans livedlonger, our food tasted better, everything was just a bit morealive. It was as if the whole island were touched by starlight.” Enver slows to a halt. His voice shifts. “And a gift like that had to be protected.”
Rapunzel’s hand tightens on Eugene’s. She says slowly, “That’s what my…That’s what someone said about me.”
“They were very wise,” King Enver says, eyes on the dry stone. “Many generations ago, the royal family realized the Starlight Spring’s many visitors were draining it faster than it could replenish itself. They built this fountain and connected it to others all over Astera. Once a year, during the Fountain Festival, this sunmill would activate, and the fountains would flow for a day, free for everyone to take what they needed, while leaving enough in reserve for the starlight to still spread naturally through the land. We knew outsiders would want that power for themselves, so we guarded the secret dearly.” He laughs bitterly. “And yet our downfall came from within.”
Eugene’s voice comes out just as bitter. “I assume this is where you think my parents come in.”
“I don’t think. I know.” Enver resumes walking around the perimeter of the fountain. “A group of insurgents formed a few decades ago, calling themselves the People’s Dagger. They believed the royalty were restricting the fountains solely to give ourselves power and control over the rest of Astera. Marietta and Herbert were indoctrinated into their ranks, even though they were close friends of the queen. They asked us to give the People’s Dagger an audience so they could pleadtheir case. We granted it, but…they came armed.” Enver absently flattens a hand to his stomach, as if the memory aches. “It’s known now as the Night of the Poisoned Dagger. I believe the insurgents intended to force us to permanently activate the fountains. When it became clear they were outnumbered, they went on a rampage, killing the queen and poisoning the spring so no one could have it.”
“The Dagger’s leaders could have lied to them.” Eugene didn’t plan to interrupt, but it flies out of his mouth nonetheless. “If—if these people even are my parents, maybe they didn’t know—”
“I saw Marietta Fitz standing over my wife’s body.” Enver points to the base of the statue. “I watched Andreas Herbert bleed out right there, on that stone. The poison may have come from his own hand.” After a moment he adds, “I’m sorry, boy.”
Rapunzel’s wrapped her arm around Eugene’s, and it may be the only thing keeping him from running into the sea right now. She asks, “Have you tested the spring water?”
